The CRE[AT]E Challenge is an opportunity for high school students to learn engineering design from MIT instructors and remote mentors while working with their local coaches and people with disabilities to prototype assistive technology solutions.

Our course materials are publicly available online and are free to all.

Accepted teams are given access to our Discord community, where some course assignments and design reviews are submitted, and teams can receive help from our network of remote mentors. US-based registered teams are eligible to receive project funding from Beaver Works.

Our final event in April is an opportunity for teams to showcase their projects. Students may be rewarded for exceptional demonstrations of co-designer collaboration, product feasibility, innovation, and documentation.

Regardless of whether or not you think you will need mentorship or funding, you should register so that we know that you are following along!

What do I need to start a team?

To register:

• 2 to 5 high school aged students

• At least one adult (18+) coach who is local to the students who will be the team's primary point of contact

• Enthusiasm to learn about and apply science and engineering to help others

By December 1st:

• A local person with disability-related challenges (a co-designer) who is willing to work with the team to design a solution

Registration

Registering Your Team

• Registration makes you part of the CRE[AT]E community, and is required for access to assignment submissions, design reviews, and our mentor network

• Registration forms must be submitted by an adult coach

• Initial team registration is due September 27th, 2024

Registering Your Members

• All coaches and student participants must complete our team acceptance and consent form after your team has been accepted and you have been assigned a team number for the year

• These forms must be completed annually, for academic year of participation

Payment and Funding

• Participation in the CRE[AT]E Challenge is free, thanks to our generous sponsors

• Registered teams based in the United States may apply for a grant of up to $125 for their project as part of their preliminary mentor design review

• If your team wishes to raise funds for your project, you may do so

• We do not provide support for fundraising directly, though you may consider some of the resources recommended by FIRST Robotics

Build Your Team

• Teams are typically 2-5 students. Larger teams have historically had more trouble coordinating.

• Team members do not need to already have any particular skills, just the time and willingness to learn and work with other members of the team!

I have a team. What now?

1. Familiarize yourself with the Goals of the Challenge 

2. Check out the tips for teams

3. Check out the season schedule for an overview of the year

4. Check out the CRE[AT]E Course for our engineering design curriculum

5. Once you have completed your consent form (above), registered team members will receive a link to join our Edly course tracking platform, which will have instructions on how to join the Discord server

Kickoff Presentation

The Challenge Kickoff was over Zoom on October 19th. It seems the the kickoff recording might not have been generated by Zoom, so in the meanwhile, the presentation slides are below.